


Someone To Keep Up With

by gloamings



Series: Pepperony Week 2k14 [7]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Meet the Family, Pepperony Week, Tony Feels, but in a really sad way i'm so sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-21
Updated: 2014-06-21
Packaged: 2018-02-05 16:03:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1824208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gloamings/pseuds/gloamings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It came back to her again years later, when Tony came into their bedroom one Sunday morning. He was dressed in all black, and held a bouquet of flowers in his hand.</p>
<p>“Pepper?” he said, still standing in the doorway. “You aren’t doing anything today, right? There’s, uh,” he continued, his voice shaking slightly, “someone I want you to meet.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Someone To Keep Up With

**Author's Note:**

> Day 7 (Theme: Family) of [Pepperony Week](http://pepperonyweek.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> And so Pepperony Week comes to an end. I wanted to end on a light note, but then I also really wanted to write Tony having Pepper "meet" his parents, so I'm sorry in advance.

Most people who knew about Tony Stark assumed he was the most open person in the world. And you really couldn’t blame them -- his public persona left little to the imagination. But Pepper knew better. She knew that, if anything, Tony was an incredibly private person.

She worked for him for eight years before he mentioned his parents around her. They had been sitting in the living room, discussing raffle prizes for a charity auction Stark Industries was holding next month.

“How about a trip to Cabo for the grand prize?” Pepper had asked, flipping through some more papers as she spoke. “I think there are some people I could contact to make that happen.”

“Cabo is great,” he’d said, laid back on the couch and looking rather wistfully out the window. “Went there with my folks when I was a kid. Dad was plastered most of the time, but mom and I were out on the beach too much to care. Well,” he’d laughed, “maybe mom did care, but I didn’t notice.”

He’d then switched topics back to the auction right after, but that spontaneous mention of his parents had stuck out in Pepper’s mind for a long time.

It came back to her again years later, when Tony came into their bedroom one Sunday morning. He was dressed in all black, and held a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

“Pepper?” he said, still standing in the doorway. “You aren’t doing anything today, right? There’s, uh,” he continued, his voice shaking slightly, “someone I want you to meet.”

Pepper, utterly confused by his outfit, and the fact that he was awake and dressed before noon, sat on the bed for a while until it hit her.

It was March 15th. The anniversary of Tony’s parents’ death.

She got dressed quickly in a demure black dress, grabbed Tony’s free hand, and walked with him out to the car.

The plot that Howard and Maria Stark were buried in was a sight to behold. Lush, green grass covered the verdant tract, and a large oak tree cast the tombstones in shade. The marble headstones, side by side, had been kept in excellent condition, thanks to Tony.

He briefly let go of Pepper’s hand to reach down and place the flowers: half on Howard’s, half on Maria’s. As he stood back up, he touched his mother’s headstone briefly, before retreating to stand next to Pepper. She reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, “for bringing me out here. It’s beautiful.”

Tony sniffed, and Pepper looked over to see that he had been crying silently for the last few minutes. Immediately, she wrapped him in a hug, one that he eventually returned.

“Mom would have loved you,” Tony said after a few minutes of silence, resting his chin on her shoulder and chuckling a little. “Right before I went off to MIT, she said, ‘Tony, you be careful with those girls. You’re going faster than a racehorse and they aren’t going to be able to keep up with you.’ I, of course, was fifteen and way too excited about co-eds to realize what she was saying, but she was right. I need someone who can keep up with me.”

“I think I’ve kept up with you pretty well,” Pepper said, rubbing his back in slow circles.

“I think so, too,” he said, squeezing her one last time before pulling away. “Thanks for coming out here with me. I wish you could have met my parents more conventionally, but…” the corner of his mouth twitched up, though his eyes were still incredibly sad.

Pepper leaned in and kissed him softly. He kissed her back, and she felt the dampness on his cheeks when he kissed her harder.

“I’m not making out with you at your parents’ graves, Tony,” she said when she drew back.

“Probably a good idea,” he said, glancing down. “Sorry, Pops, but I can’t help myself -- d’you _see_ how beautiful she is?”

She smacked him lightly on the arm.

“Alright, let’s go,” he said, taking her hand once more as they turned to leave. “I forgot to eat breakfast this morning, I was so nervous. You’re the first person I’ve brought out here, y’know,” he added. “Well, Rhodey’s been out here, but you’re the first person I’ve slept with who’s been out to see my folks.”

“Really?” she said, looking over at him as they walked. “That’s… wow.”

“Yeah,” he said, beaming at her. “I must really love you a lot.”

“You must,” she said, returning his smile and squeezing his hand again.

 


End file.
